Why is this thing in a Mead Article?
Now that you’re an accomplished meadmaker you can whip up a batch, keg it, and serve it with no more trouble than making Raman Noodles. Your sanitization technique is down and you have a great honey supplier. You don’t get bottle bombs or batch infections. Every recipe is a winner.
You have a dozen meads ranging from a Viking’s Blood to a hydromel. You have a gooseberry mead, a blackberry mead, a strawberry mead, and a sack. All of them could (and probably will) win medals at your local homebrew competition.
But you’re sick of hearing, “Wow, this is incredible! Did you really make this?” or “Can I take a bottle home with me?” or “My Nana would really like this!” You want real excitement. You want your friends jumping out of their seats, knocking over potted plants, and stumbling over the dog. You might not even mind if someone fainted.
Let’s face it: You’re Bored.
When did the thrill die? It used to be exciting just to get the yeast to start bubbling away. Now… what’s the point? Don’t worry, friend. There is hope.
Did you know that anything with esculent properties can be added to a mead? Should it be? Probably not. But can it be? Oh heck to the yes.
Years ago, Meadmaker Ricky was on Basic Brewing Radio talking about Freestyle Homebrewing. His idea was that anything found in a spice cabinet could potentially go into a batch of beer or mead. It’s really only in the last century that we narrowed down the field of ingredients to about a dozen “acceptable” additions. Just take a look at our article The Metheglin Magnate to get an idea of what used to go into mead.
Some meadmakers think of themselves as brave because they made a melomel with a new fruit that they’ve never used before. We ask: What about tomatoes and clam juice? You could call it a Clameado!
Some meadmakers watch their pulse jump when they reach for the vanilla extract. We ask: What would happen if we added allspice berries? Or cumin? Or Both?
Some meadmakers are happy to rest on their laurels. We ask: What the hell is laurel and is it toxic?
People regularly ask us, “Why do it? Why not just stick to recipes from a book? Or at least experiment with flavors you know people like.”
Why? Because variety is the spice of life. And you know what else is the spice of life? Wasabi. (Image Above)
You have a dozen meads ranging from a Viking’s Blood to a hydromel. You have a gooseberry mead, a blackberry mead, a strawberry mead, and a sack. All of them could (and probably will) win medals at your local homebrew competition.
But you’re sick of hearing, “Wow, this is incredible! Did you really make this?” or “Can I take a bottle home with me?” or “My Nana would really like this!” You want real excitement. You want your friends jumping out of their seats, knocking over potted plants, and stumbling over the dog. You might not even mind if someone fainted.
Let’s face it: You’re Bored.
When did the thrill die? It used to be exciting just to get the yeast to start bubbling away. Now… what’s the point? Don’t worry, friend. There is hope.
Did you know that anything with esculent properties can be added to a mead? Should it be? Probably not. But can it be? Oh heck to the yes.
Years ago, Meadmaker Ricky was on Basic Brewing Radio talking about Freestyle Homebrewing. His idea was that anything found in a spice cabinet could potentially go into a batch of beer or mead. It’s really only in the last century that we narrowed down the field of ingredients to about a dozen “acceptable” additions. Just take a look at our article The Metheglin Magnate to get an idea of what used to go into mead.
Some meadmakers think of themselves as brave because they made a melomel with a new fruit that they’ve never used before. We ask: What about tomatoes and clam juice? You could call it a Clameado!
Some meadmakers watch their pulse jump when they reach for the vanilla extract. We ask: What would happen if we added allspice berries? Or cumin? Or Both?
Some meadmakers are happy to rest on their laurels. We ask: What the hell is laurel and is it toxic?
People regularly ask us, “Why do it? Why not just stick to recipes from a book? Or at least experiment with flavors you know people like.”
Why? Because variety is the spice of life. And you know what else is the spice of life? Wasabi. (Image Above)
